William Harris for GA State House District 74

Expand Healthcare

The healthcare system in Georgia ranks as the second worst in the country (Source), we have the third highest uninsured population in the United States, and our infant mortality rates are 125% higher than the national average. Expanding healthcare in Georgia improves our healthcare infrastructure and saves lives. It's past time for us to pass healthcare expansion.

Higher Wages

The costs of living are increasing for Georgians and the yearly raises many workers get each year aren't above inflation rates. We're told that our economy is doing well but most folks in Georgia are struggling day-to-day. Hard working Georgians deserve more of the money they make which we can do by raising wages and lowering taxes. The working class needs more representation in Atlanta.

Legalize Cannabis

Georgia makes more than 30,000 cannabis-related arrests each year costing taxpayers around $4,390 per arrest and $73,170 per felony conviction (Source). Two out of three voters support cannabis legalization and it's time Georgia ends the immoral prohibition on cannabis including the complete expunging of cannabis-related convictions.

Building a People-Powered Campaign

Expand Healthcare

Expand Medicaid

Medicaid currently covers 1 in 5 Georgians making it one of our most vital public health institutions but the Republicans in Atlanta consistently block Medicaid access for our most vulnerable citizens. By expanding Medicaid we can insure more than 250,000 of our neighbors and community members keeping them healthy.

Invest in Rural Hospitals

Georgia is one of the most dangerous states to give birth in as shown with our 120% higher than national average infant mortality rate. We know that the closing of rural hospitals is a key reason why. By expanding Medicaid we can keep our rural hospitals operating which saves peoples lives, including our newborn populations.

Covid-19 Response

Our government at the State and Federal level failed to protect us from the Covid-19 pandemic. The individuals we elected to represent us in Atlanta and Washington DC weaponized the pandemic for their own political goals leaving front-line workers to an increased risk to their health. We need strong leadership in Atlanta who understands that our people need to come first--not partisanship.

 

A huge number of our friends, family, neighbors, and community members struggle with healthcare access as our doctors, hospitals, and clinics remain out of reach for many of us. Even during the largest pandemic of our lifetimes the Republican leaders in Atlanta still refused to expand healthcare to its most vulnerable citizens effectively leaving them to survive on their own.

This lack of healthcare access has real and lethal consequences for folks--especially our Black and Brown neighbors.

small government
BIG CHANGES

I believe that our communities should be the bedrock of our society, not some government in Washington D.C. or even in Atlanta. By electing me to serve as your next Representative you will be sending someone who understands that we're only as strong as our small communities are and the role of State Government is to assist our communities in governing themselves.

Georgia State House District 74 needs strong leadership with a strong vision and I hope you give me the privilege to serve this community as your next Representative!

Higher Wages

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Georgia in $5.25 per hour while the Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. In 1968 the federal minimum wage peaked at a modern-day-adjusted-value of around $12 per hour. If the 1968 minimum wage grew at the same rate as the United States economy then the minimum wage would be around $22 per hour.

Workers in Georgia deserve higher pay for their hard work. Higher wages will stimulate our economy and lift our communities up.

Lower Taxes

The majority of the taxes paid in our country are paid by working class individuals like you and me. Income-based tax plans hurt the hardest working members of our state the most. Too many tax cuts are being written for the wealthiest citizens among us while the folks who actually need the help are left on their own.

When the state experiences a surplus in revenue then it only makes sense that "We the People" either find good investments to make in our state or we give that money back to our taxpayers.

Cooperative Business

Ronald Reagan said it himself, “I can’t help but believe that in the future we will see in the United States and throughout the Western world an increasing trend towards the next logical step, employee ownership. It is a path that befits a free people.” Georgia doesn’t currently have the legal classification for worker cooperatives. We should work to encourage the creation of worker cooperatives within our legal framework to ensure that more companies can follow the ideals of employee ownership.

 

It's mentioned a lot, "if we raise prices then everything else will go up too!" The Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour was set in 2009 and over the past 13 years there has been a 30% increase in the cost of living with a 0% increase in the minimum wage. The economy is doing better than it has ever done in its past and the working class is seeing virtually none of that growth.

This wage stagnation is destroying our local economy. Folks ain't eating out as much, buying as many new things, and the Millennial and Zoomer generations are being priced out of housing entirely because they're mostly stuck in their low-wage jobs.

This November we're sending a message to Atlanta that the hardest working people in our state deserve more of their paycheck each month!

About William Harris

Georgian Father

William Harris was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and has lived in Georgia his entire life where he raises his two children. He lived in Spalding County for a majority of his life until moving to Fayette county in 2015.

Within his community he helps individuals seeking to do good in their neighborhoods realize their dreams by helping them organize into functional institutions.

Left-Libertarian

We can only be a free country when everyone is free. The United States of America is 5% of the global population but has 22% of the global prison population. Our society has the largest number of total prisoners and the largest number of prisoners per capita compared to every other country on Earth. We need to scale back our oppressive institutions enforced by the State.

We can find solutions in decentralized policy, giving political power back to the communities of our state

Small Business Owner

William Harris has been a small business owner in Fayette County since 2015 so he knows the various nuances of how businesses are run and operated. Since 2015 his company has expanded to employing five workers and he is able to dedicate his time to his family, company, campaign, and community.

A graduate of Georgia College & State University with a Bachelor's of Business Administration, William Harris is prepared to represent District 74.

Legalize Cannabis

30,000+

Cannabis Arrests in GA per Year

$4,390

Taxes Wasted per Cannabis Arrest

$73,170

Taxes Wasted per Cannabis Felony

 

Cannabis laws disproportionally affect marginalized communities of Color and represent a huge waste of taxpayer time and resources. Electing William Harris means sending someone to Atlanta who will fight to end the immoral prohibition on cannabis including the expunging of non-violent cannabis-related convictions releasing otherwise innocent folks back to their families and communities. Legalizing cannabis in Georgia could result in more than $2 billion dollars in extra revenue for the state allowing us to invest more in tax cuts, our infrastructure, and our society.

More than 13% of Georgians consume cannabis on a normal basis and 2 out of 3 citizens believe that it's time we end the prohibition on cannabis. A majority of people in society believe that we should cease overcrowding our prisons with non-violent drug offenders.

Black and Brown people are 3x more likely to be arrested for cannabis charges than our white community members (Source). It is vital that these same communities that the "War on Drugs" has devastated are properly re-invested in to remedy the decades of state enforcement and oppression.

Interact with the Campaign

 

The Working Class Candidate

I'm a hard working American just like you and it is time that our political institutions start to look more like us and less like the "outsider" entrenched politician class. Stacey Abrams endorsed me in 2020 and this campaign experienced the strongest Democratic support in recent history. In 2022 we need YOUR help to ensure that we can flip this district!

Can you donate $20.22? and then Host a Yard Sign?


Important Dates for Democracy

May 24
Democratic Primary

November 8
General Election

Register to Vote

Paid for by William Harris for State House, Inc.

william@repoftheppl.com


116 Carrollwood Drive
Fayetteville, GA 30215

770-870-1500